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Textbook ExpertVerified Tutor
13 Nov 2021

Given information

Aluminum oxide is a solid ionic compound, made from atoms of one metal (Aluminum) that have lost three electrons each to become +3 cations, and atoms of a non-metal (oxygen) that have gained two electrons each to become -2 anions.

The numbers 3 and 2 have the lowest common multiple of 6. This means you need TWO aluminum atoms (giving away 2×3=6 electrons total) and THREE oxygen atoms (accepting 3×2=6 electrons total).

Because the electrons are LOST by the metal and GAINED by the non-metal, there has been a transfer of electrons and this makes it an ionic compound by definition.

                                                                                  

                                                                                                OR

                                                                               

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1.

The numbers 3 and 2 have the lowest common multiple of 6. This means you need TWO aluminum atoms (giving away 2×3=6 electrons total) and THREE oxygen atoms (accepting 3×2=6 electrons total).

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